An Orange County property purchased in the 1960's and the future home of the West Saint Mark Church of Christ was fraudulently sold without the owner's knowledge, highlighting a growing scam that has prompted a warning from the FBI.
Timothy Peppers said his father bought the land for what would eventually become the new home of West Saint Mark Church of Christ in Chapel Hill.
"Ever since 2005, we've been working on developing it to actually build the sanctuary here," Peppers said.
Those plans were put on hold earlier this year when Peppers received an unexpected letter from a law firm saying it had been hired to handle the sale of his property.
"It was just the shock and not knowing what to do next and the panic that you go through when you find out."
After contacting the attorney who sent the letter, Peppers learned the property had been sold without his knowledge. The documents show the property was sold for $110,000 on April 17th, and a deed was filed with the Orange County Register of Deeds.
When Peppers reviewed the paperwork, he immediately noticed something was wrong.
"That's not my signature, and my mother's deceased," he said.
The purchase agreement included what appeared to be the signature of Peppers' mother, Molly Peppers, who died in 2021.
ABC11 Troubleshooter Diane Wilson called the attorney who handled the transaction, and they confirmed the sale was fraudulent and said their client had also been scammed by someone impersonating Peppers. The law firm worked to correct the records, and the property has since been deeded back into Peppers' name.
"I was thinking about how big a mess it would have been had we gone through the permitting process, ready to build, and someone walk up and say they owned the property," Peppers said.
With ownership restored, plans to build the church are moving forward.
"This would actually be the parking lot here, and the church would be further back on the lot," Peppers said. He hopes sharing his experience will help prevent others from becoming victims.
"I think we need to keep raising the flag until people kind of have a sense that that's what they need to do. Always check," he said.
This is not the first time a Triangle landowner experienced this scam. ABC11 Troubleshooter talked to an Apex landowner whose property was listed for sale, and he had no idea about it.
The FBI recently issued an alert about criminals targeting vacant land by stealing owners' identities and fraudulently selling property without the owners' knowledge or consent.
Officials say scammers often impersonate legitimate property owners, forge documents and complete sales before victims realize anything is wrong.
How to protect yourself
The FBI and Register of Deeds offices recommend property owners:
- Sign up for free property fraud alerts through your county's Register of Deeds office.
- Regularly monitor property records for any unauthorized filings.
- Be especially vigilant if you own vacant land or property you don't visit often.
- Report suspicious activity to law enforcement immediately.
While fraud alerts won't prevent someone from attempting to file fraudulent documents, they can notify property owners quickly so they can take action before the damage becomes more extensive.
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